Classes resume in one CUET department after 36 days, none in other 11
After 36 days of deadlock, academic activity has partially returned to Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET). Classes began at 9am on Wednesday (28 October) in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
No classes were held that day in the other 11 of the university's 12 departments. Classes for several batches of the Urban and Regional Planning department ran from 9am to 11am, but attendance was low.
Department head Fauzia Gulshana Rashid Lopa said classes for the 21, 22 and 23 batches were held at 9am. Classes for all batches were broadly held but student attendance was low, with students from the 21 and 22 batches comparatively more present. She hoped attendance would rise from the next day.
Fourth-year student Abdullah Talbi of the department said classes were held with only a small number of students. A lab was scheduled under the routine, but it was postponed after discussion with the department.
Even though students returned to classrooms, the crisis over the vice-chancellor has not been resolved. Students have announced they will continue their movement demanding the reinstatement of former vice-chancellor Professor Dr Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem. Their position is that academic activity will continue alongside the movement.
A six-member delegation formed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to resolve the university's ongoing crisis met teachers and students on Wednesday. The delegation was also scheduled to meet officers and employees on Wednesday afternoon.
Students have been protesting since a new vice-chancellor was appointed at CUET on 21 September. A complete shutdown programme began the next day. In the course of continuous movement demanding cancellation of the appointment, the university's administrative work, classes and examinations shut down. Academic activity returned on a limited scale on Wednesday with classes starting in one department.
